When the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) first rolled out the requirements of eTIMS for non-VAT businesses and individuals; that is billing and generating invoices for sell of products and services via eTIMS, I was among the people who protested against the move.
First, I thought it was one of the ways KRA wanted to use to track my businesses and finances, and therefore, net me if I failed to remit the right taxes. As an SME, the thought of the taxman coming at my tiny and poorly-lit office demanding taxes I did not have made me shiver.
Second, I thought the process of onboarding to eTIMS was cumbersome, time-wasting, and not worth it. Well, at the start, the process was indeed tiresome and frustrating given that it was new technology and I did not know how to go about it onboard myself. I almost said acha ikae.
Third, I was confident that my clients would not ask for eTIMS invoices. After all, I am just a sole proprietor who has worked with the majority of them for years. There was no way they were going to stop paying unless I produced an eTIMS invoice. I was wrong.
Soon, I started receiving emails from some of my clients that going forward, they will only approve and make payments for invoices generated via eTIMS. That was a blow to me for I had not even onboarded on eTIMS. It was a rush against time because I needed money. I needed to be paid.
A friend advised me to go to https://etims.kra.go.ke/ and sign up with eTIMS. I did it with the utmost speed and precision. It took me less than 5 minutes to sign. All I needed was to key in my KRA PIN and all my details automatically filled in the remaining options.
I then requested to be onboarded on eTIMS so that I could start generating invoices. The approval process was more than instant because the option of filling a form and getting approvals had been dropped by KRA, a great move that came as a huge relief for millions of SMEs like me.
The next hurdle was to generate an invoice, a simple process that only takes less than a minute to grasp. I will explain how to generate an invoice via eTIMS in the next story within the day. After logging in, went to the Transactional Management section, scrolled down to Sathe le by Receipt section, keyed in the details of my clients, and then Boom, the invoice was generated, automatically downloaded, and sent.
Having used eTIMS for two months now, and having generated at least 8 invoices so far, I have developed a strange liking for it. It makes my work easy. Everything is automated and all I need are the details of my buyer/clients (KRA PIN and phone number), and the amount, then everything is done. This means that I can do it anywhere and anytime with or without my computer.
I have also realized that it helps me track my invoices and put my finances in order. As a sole proprietorship business, mostly I generated an invoice to be paid. I did not care about the invoice number. I also did not care looking back at an invoice that had been paid hence no record of my transactions over the years. Now, I can access all my invoices on a single and simple platform and know how much I am making.
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